Presented by Nana Duffuor and directed by Dazié Rustin Grego-Sykes, Sprint is a powerful stage performance blending film, theater, poetry, music, and dance to tell the coming of age story of Nana D., a queer black child of Ghanaian immigrants, discovering herself (and her dignity) in White America.

In the age of #MeToo, Sprint asks audiences to consider what it truly means to not just survive but to heal from sexual violence, and how we, as a community, can show up for survivors.

Based off an original screenplay and collection of written works by Nana Duffuor, Sprint explores the writer’s experiences of anti-blackness and self-denial, sexual violence and self-destruction, healing and resistance. From Nana’s first act of resistance (urinating on the classroom floor of her detested sixth-grade teacher) to the powerful connections she forms with other survivors, her teacher-friends, and her ancestors along her journey; Sprint draws on Nana’s most hilarious and at times horrifying life lessons to inspire community healing.

BIOGRAPHIES

Nana Duffuor is a writer, performer, and producer of Ghanaian descent, based in Oakland, CA. With support from a successful community crowdfunding campaign, Nana’s multidisciplinary work, Sprint, debuted in June 2018 as part of the Queer Cultural Center’s National Queer Arts Festival.

With this autobiographical performance piece, Nana incorporates original poetry, film, theater, music, and dance to tell a powerful coming of age story. In 2018, Sprint was awarded a committed fund grant from the East Bay Community Foundation’s East Bay Fund for Artists. Nana is a member of the 2018 New York Fund for Artists’ Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program. She is interested in bringing both the film and theater components of Sprint to wider audiences while developing herself as an artist and entrepreneur rooted in justice.

Dazié Grego-Sykes is a poet, performance artist and activist. Dazié’s performance work and style was developed at The Experimental Performance Institute at New College San Francisco where he received his BA in Queer Performance and Activism. He has developed and produced several solo plays including 3, Where Is Adam and I Am A Man. Currently Dazié is studying to receive his MFA in Creative Inquiry at The California Institute of Integral Studies.

“My process begins with resistance. This “resistance” was created when I discovered the world was not prepared for me to express and exist as my authentic self As a child, my imagination created a new world and new belief systems. From this came a communication style that has been called “art.” Interacting with “performance” as “art” allows me to create and manipulate perception. My work suggests and indicates alternative belief systems that are sustainable and empowering.